The Majestic Theatre opened in the spring of 1907, and though it lasted only a short time, there was much drama and comedy to observe, both onstage and off.

By 1907, Sioux Falls had enjoyed live performances at the Booth Opera House and the New Theater, and Conrad Holmes felt there was room for another theater in town. Holmes met with investors Michael Breslauer and Henry R. Moore from Minneapolis and convinced them to invest in a new Vaudeville house in Sioux Falls. Breslauer was a newsdealer who gained notoriety, and at times infamy, for his Minneapolis Northern Display Advertising Co. He’d seen a day or two in court defending himself against accusations of obscenity and selling the Police Gazette, a magazine which tended to print what was considered by some to be obscene material. Moore was Breslauer’s junior partner and was said to look like Nebraska politician William Jennings Bryan. He’d been a showman for 35 years and had a snappy patter that reflected this. Breslauer and Moore had owned and operated theaters on the Vaudeville circuit in the Minneapolis area for years.

The Majestic Theatre was to be established in the Taylor Block on the west side of Phillips Avenue between Ninth and 10th streets. Parts of the second floor were carved out to make room above the stage for the fly system, which is where the curtains and backdrops are kept when not visible on the stage.

Holmes was to be the theater’s manager, though Moore would be in town as long as it took to get the theater open. The first production at The Majestic was a program for the Elk’s Lodge on April 27, 1907. The program included Katherine Gore, a 4-year-old vocalist from Watertown, selections by the Congregational Male Quartette, feats of magic by J. V. Trepanier, acrobatic feats by the Sioux Club Trio, illustrated songs by Majestic Theatre Boy Soprano Eugene White, and a collection of moving pictures.

The public opening would be two days later on April 29. The ad in the paper announced “The Majestic Family Theater – the new $30,000 Vaudeville Theater – Perfect, Beautiful, Absolutely Fire Proof.” The fact that the building was fire proof was very important, as combustible film stock was contained within, but perhaps more importantly, because it was a time when so many buildings burned in spectacular fashion. The fire at the Cataract Hotel still loomed large in the memories of Sioux Falls citizens.

Despite original announcements, Moore stayed on as manager for months. For a while, Holmes worked with Moore, but in June, Holmes walked away. On Aug. 28, 1907, the Argus Leader announced that Holmes was now in absolute charge of The Majestic. Moore had stepped down, his partnership with Breslauer dissolved. Breslauer was still the leaseholder and planned to continue with the venture, installing Holmes as manager as originally intended. For an additional week, Holmes kept the bill as established, proclaiming that there would be incredible changes under his watch. The entertainment circuits The Majestic had contracted with prior to that point had apparently failed to thrill the Sioux Falls crowd.

Holmes went to Chicago and cancelled his contract with the old circuit and established a new one with the Orpheum circuit. He also improved the quality and timeliness of his motion pictures by getting them directly from the distributor. To cover this increase in expense, the ticket price went from 20 cents to 25 cents. The audience responded favorably, but The Majestic failed to fill the seats well enough to recover from its slump.

On Jan. 11, 1908, Gus A. Weingarten of Chicago arrived in Sioux Falls to take over management of the theater. Ownership of the theater had been transferred from Breslauer to Joseph E. Howard, and the name of the theater was changed from The Majestic to The Barrison Theater, in honor of Howard’s wife Miss Mabel Barrison. Both Howard and Barrison were stage performers, and Barrison had performed before in Sioux Falls. Weingarten announced that there would be vast improvements to the theater; the stage would be improved, and the roof above the stage would be raised to allow for larger backdrops and more modern productions. There would also be improved Vaudeville performances as well as dramatic performances. The Barrison closed June 22, 1908, amid controversy.

The Barrison had only one profitable week since Howard purchased the house. Evidently, local crowds had tired of Vaudeville, at least for a time. Weingarten left town on Monday the 14th, promising to return by Thursday with enough money to pay expenses. He failed to return and the theater’s treasurer, Mrs. Hubbard, was forced to tell the performers the house did not have enough money to pay their salaries. The players were given receipts from the previous evening’s show. A benefit was then put on to help raise money for the performers who had not enough cash to pay for their departure. Locals gathered, answering the call of the human cause. Howard continued to tour with performing companies, but skipped South Dakota, letting his understudy fill in. It was likely he would have been arrested for all the debt he skipped out on.

The theater would again reopen on July 31, 1908, this time managed by James V. Bryson, formerly of the Dreamland Theater. The performance and moving picture theater was once again called The Majestic. The Majestic continued successfully until March 29, 1915, when a fire broke out at midnight in the basement near the furnace. Owner John Biegger Jr. was awakened in his upstairs apartment when he heard shouts of “Fire!” from the street. The Barrow-Howard Players, who were playing a stock engagement, were alerted and rushed to the theater to rescue their wardrobe. Though the building was engulfed in smoke, they rushed in three times to rescue as much of their wardrobe as possible, the last time against the orders of the fire chief.

The fire department worked tirelessly to put out the blaze, and though they kept the flames confined to the building, they were unable to keep the fire from consuming all of the inner structure of the building. In the end, all that was left were four walls. Biegger was confident that once the insurance money came in, he’d be able to build a bigger and better theater, saying “No use crying over spilled milk.”

Eric Renshaw of Sioux Falls has written the book "Forgotten Sioux Falls" and gives a historical perspective on his website GreetingsFromSiouxFalls.com.